Prince Octavius cause of death
Prince Octavius of Great Britain was King George III’s eighth son and thirteenth child with his queen consort, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (23 February 1779-3 May 1783). Six months after Prince Alfred, his younger brother, died, Octavius received a smallpox vaccination. He became ill a few days later. His parents, particularly his father, were devastated by…
Prince Octavius of Great Britain was King George III’s eighth son and thirteenth child with his queen consort, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (23 February 1779-3 May 1783). Six months after Prince Alfred, his younger brother, died, Octavius received a smallpox vaccination. He became ill a few days later.
His parents, particularly his father, were devastated by his death at the age of four. Alfred and Octavius, King George III’s two youngest sons, occupied a particular place in his heart and regularly appeared to him in his later episodes of insanity.
On February 23, 1779, Prince Octavius was born in Buckingham House in London. He was the thirteenth child of King George III and Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.
Prince Octavius’s cause of death
Six months after Alfred’s death, Octavius and Sophia were brought to Kew Palace in London for smallpox vaccinations. Sophia recovered completely without incident, but Octavius became ill and died on May 3, 1783, at about 8:00 p.m.
He was only four years old. According to a letter from Lady Charlotte Finch, the governess of the royal children, Prince Octavius died last night, and there was never any hope of his recovery from the moment he became unwell.
